We were happy to be back in the States. We had just spent 6 months traveling abroad with 4 young kids under the age of 10. We had backpacked the 2 year old all over China, taken our 9 year old to a Chinese clinic to be treated by a cigarette smoking doctor that we couldn’t understand, bathed children in a bucket in the Philippines heated with an electric (yes, electric!) heater
and eaten food unknown to most Americans.
It was a trip of a lifetime and the stories and friends we collected along the way, were priceless. When we landed back on US soil, we weren’t quite sure where we fit. We had sold our home and all of our belongings, thinking we wouldn’t be returning for some time. So, when we got back, a family took us in until we could figure out what to do next.
We knew we would need furniture so we began to look even before we knew where we’d live. The first piece we found was this sofa.
We got it at a discount furniture store for $299. For us it was a steal! Yes, it was just a “piece” of a sectional (notice cut in fabric where the other piece was to attach), but it was originally priced $1,200 and it was comfy. That was 8 years ago…and back then it wasn’t a trampoline, teenage lounge and crumb catcher.
This is what it looks like most days.
And about a month ago, we discovered the frame had broken (it creaked when we sat on it) and it had been tearing up our new hardwood floors. Yikes!
I have to admit, I was a little sad. This sofa represented us finding our place again. It was the place we all crammed onto on Friday nights for family “pizza movie nights”. It was the place new friends and old sunk themselves into with a hot cup of coffee to linger the night away. It was the place our dog Lexy had tried to make her own. (I had to put a stop to that! But, I’ll save it for another day. I’m still working out some forgiveness towards her.) My husband and I had snuggled on it, spent countless evenings folding mountains of laundry on it and curled up with a good book, while wrapped in a blanket.
After all of our travels, it represented coming home.
I began to look for a new one, meanwhile stuffing a rag under the broken end of the sofa so as to minimize the damage to the floors.
There were a few criteria we were looking for in a sofa:
1. It had to fit the space. My living room offers up some challenges.
2. The sofa had to be able to maximize the seating. There are 7 of us and our current sofa allows for only four of us. The other three lounge on the floor or draped over a chair. It would be great to get a few more of us on the sofa.
3. Seeing as we have 5 kids and a dog, it has to be stain resistant and (preferably, be slipped covered so I can throw covers in my washing machine.)
4. It has to be beautiful. It has to make me happy every time I look at it. And if I had my first choice, it would be covered in linen. But, I know that’s probably one of the least practical choices….so…we’ll see.
And then I received an invite to participate in Test It, Blog It, Win It at Su Casa Furniture in Baltimore, Maryland.
I felt like I was a perfect participant for this contest. I had a real need. And firm ideas of what I was looking for in a sofa. So, I applied…and they accepted me!! Basically the deal is, I have to go into their store as a real customer. I have to go through the process of picking out a sofa, looking at fabrics and options, asking my regular questions and then when I go to purchase, let the salesperson know, I’m one of the bloggers. My sofa will be delivered to me in 8-10 weeks, stay in my home for 1 month. During the process I have to blog about my experience. If my posts are the most creative, I could be chosen to keep the sofa for free. If I’m not chosen, I have the option to buy it for half the price.
I’d love for you to follow me on the journey as I share with you A Sofa Story.
